Guidance Needed from the Set Builders

[kailes2872]

Last night was a big night as I finally got '61 and now have 57-85. Up until now, I have been buying the sets and then upgrading as needed. I had minimal upgrades with 57, 62, 64, 65, 66, 69. 59 was a major upgrade (but I bought the original set very cheap), 58, 60, 70, 71, 72 had a modest amount, but still provided good value by the time that the upgrades were done versus the original price for the set. I paid more for the '61 up front than I did for any of the other sets, but I believe that I will have less than a couple hundred in upgrades and it is a very strong EXMT-NRMT set.

Which brings me to my current crossroads. Last night, there was a VG/VGEX '55 that I could have gotten for about 2 grand. The Clemente was probably a 3 OC, the Koufax was creased, the Killebrew was solid, Snider was almost filler, and the Mays was pretty strong. Commons were pretty solid in the VGEX-EX range. If I would have bought the set, I would have eventually upgraded Clemente to at least a 5 (possibly a 6), Koufax to a 6, and the Snider as well. By my count, that would been at least 2 grand in those 3 cards. At that point, I would have had 4 grand into it and a pretty uniform set. I would have had some value in the 3 cards that were upgraded, but I tend to hold onto them.

Since there are 340 cards in '56, 206, in 55, and 280 in '54, I was wondering if the smart thing to do would be to look for a large lot of cards from each of these years and then collect the stars star by star in the holder that I am looking for - or if there is still value in finding the entire set together (and knowing that I will be paying a pretty solid price at the grade that I am looking for). My big fear is that if I buy raw and send in the big cards for grading, they will come back at a lower grade than the raw description. For example, something called EXMT will come back as a 4 VGEX and I will want to upgrade to the higher grade.


Very long winded way of asking - those who have completed the smaller count sets like 54-56, did you do it card by card to get the stars in the specific grade that you were looking for, or did you buy it complete?

If it is a card by card with stars, that strategy is a little different for me than the whole set as I would probably look for starter lots in each and begin filling in the big cards in all three simultaneously as I find the right deal. If it is buying the entire set at one time, I would save up, buy 56, upgrade the set as needed, then buy 55, rinse and repeat, etc.


Thanks for any feedback.
Kevin

[savedfrommyspokes]

Kevin, for me, I first built these Topps sets (53-present) by starting with (multiple) larger lots of commons/semis and then subsequently buying the stars to finish the set out. In the case of 56's, after completing the set initially, I came back and bought several complete sets in order to further upgrade my set. I then sold off the lower grade cards as singles ( I had the time to do so) on ebay to more than cover the costs of my upgrades.

In most cases with sets I have built (69 and back) I have followed the same MO as above and subsequently wind up with a minimal amount invested in a nice mid grade set (EX to EX-MT) after selling off all of my dupes as singles.

Currently I am working the 50-55 Bowman sets and the 61-63 Post sets with the same MO...while I still have a few stars remaining that I need (Mantle/Mays), these sets 9 sets range from 75% to 99% complete in solid mid-grade shape. By buying multiple lots for each of these sets and selling off my doubles(profitably), I have approximately $1500-$2000 invested in these 9 sets.

To answer your question, I recommend buying multiple lots, upgrading, selling off the dupes as singles (to maximize profit) and adding stars as time and money allow.

[Brianruns10]

I never buy whole sets. Always singly. For me it's the thrill of the hunt, cherrypicking only the finest examples (within my price/grade range) with an emphasis on centering. I just like to have that control. Because buying a whole set, it is just harder to ensuring uniform quality.

[ALR-bishop]

On my Topps sets 1948 and 1951 to 1971 I pieced them. From 72 to, so far, 2014 I buy sets, with minimum upgrading. But for all sets I add any variations listed in SCD, Beckett or The Registry. Also a pack :-)....and any insert or test set for the related year ( up to 94). It is some sort of illness :-(

[brob28]

Kevin, congrats on the '61 set you showed in the pick-up thread, looks real nice. I build all my sets by buying lots, mostly for commons and buy the star cards individually. In a lot of sets I've seen for sale there seems to be a drop off in condition and/or centering in the more expensive cards. I don't have a lot of time to re-sell in Ebay or elsewhere so I try to buy what I want from the start. Long-winded way to get to my answer, but if you are interested in a specific grade on these cards, I would buy the card in the holder. With the vagaries of grading you could by several cards hoping for that 6 and get a 4. If you paid anything more than a 4 price for it, your losing money. IMO it would be easier and safer to just buy them slabbed if that's what you want.

[K-Nole]

I have done both ways, bought complete set, and then buy "lot".

When I buy the set as a whole, it is not "fun". I buy the set, and there it sets.

So now, all i ever do is build sets with my son, by buying winning "lots" off ebay, then what i still need, I go to the local card shop and see what I can get from him, because I believe it is our duty to keep our little card shop owners, in business.
Then what i still need, i buy thru "sportlots.com".
Then what i still need, which by this time is only 5-6 at the most, i buy off ebay.

That way is a lot more fun as i am doing it with my 11 year old son, and we get to physically analyze almost every card. When I bought already built complete sets, it was, "well, here it is", "Now what?"